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Wilfred (US)
"Wilfred" redirects here. For other uses of "Wilfred", see Wilfred (disambiguation). Wilfred is the title character in the show Wilfred. He is played by Jason Gann, who is also one of the creators, writers, and producers. Description Most people view Wilfred simply as a dog, but his neighbor Ryan sees him as an Australian in a cheap dog suit. He also smokes marijuana and loves cheese, peanut butter and bubbles. While Wilfred is often shown behaving in a very "human" way, he still acts as though he is a dog. Ex. When Ryan puts up a pet pen in the kitchen, which Wilfred as a man could easily step over, he nevertheless acts as though it is an impassable barrier, and reacts with genuine surprise when Ryan steps over it. Wilfred is led mainly by his instincts, giving him a short attention span when something more interesting shows up. In this he is a fantastic contrast to Ryan, who always worries about the future. Sometimes this is helpful, but more often is comically disastrous. He is often shown to be manipulative in order to get what he wants and to help Ryan. History Pre-''Wilfred'' For most of the series, Wilfred is an extremely mysterious entity. Like Bruce he is known to be a liar and much of what he reveals about himself is not exactly known how true it is. According to him in Trust, he was born among seven other pups and then put in a bag and thrown into the Chesapeake Bay and was the only survivor. (However, in later episodes, he mentions his sister, which could mean some survived or he made this story up.) Later, in Uncertainty it is revealed that Wilfred was originally called "Stinky" and had run away while on vacation in Wisconsin, so his original owner cloned him. In Happiness Wilfred confesses to Ryan that he had an oral fixation that jeopardizes many of his past owners' relationship with him, who would get rid of him when he ruined their shoes. While at the pound, an elderly woman gave Wilfred a tennis ball. (This also be false due to Wilfred seemingly not actually caring about the tennis ball). In Uncertainty, it is revealed that when he was younger, Wilfred was adopted by a rich woman and was originally named Lord Charles Beevwelt, or Stinky as a nickname. He ran away for reasons unknown, so his owner cloned him. He was eventually adopted by Jenna Mueller, who renamed him Wilfred, or Wilfy. Wilfred At the beginning of the series Wilfred is 7 years old (49 in Dog Years). By the series end, he is 9 years old, or 63 years old. On the night of Ryan's attempted suicide, Spencer, a neighbor, continuously revs his motorcycle, causing Wilfred to yell at him from a window while Jenna attempts to stop him. The next morning Jenna asks Ryan to watch Wilfred for him, to which he agrees. Ryan is immediately perplexed over what is Wilfred, but the two talk a bit and smoke some pot out of Wilfred's Gatorade Bong. While Ryan is passed out Wilfred goes in the backyard and begins anxiously digging holes, as he thinks Jenna has choked on a piece of Lego and died. Relationships Wilfred is deeply protective of his owner, Jenna. Like an ideal dog, he keeps his owner's safety and happiness at the forefront of his mind at almost all times, and will go to great lengths to ensure that Jenna remains so. Partly because of this, he can do nothing direct about her boyfriend (now husband), Drew, whom Wilfred despises and fears as the emasculating alpha male of the household, a position previously held by Wilfred. Wilfred's relationship with Ryan is often manipulative on his part. He often uses Ryan in his plots to usurp Drew or protect Jenna, as well as for his own selfish ends. Despite this, Wilfred seems to have some degree of love and protective feelings for Ryan, which have grown as they have spent more time together. He acts as part manipulative friend, part psychiatrist for Ryan, helping him through issues and personal problems when they don't conflict with his own wishes. Wilfred's loyalty to Ryan is shown in Identity when he actually jumps in front of a moving car to help him. He loves Ryan's mother, Catherine, unconditionally and dislikes Ryan's sister for her bossy attitude and her mistreatment of Ryan. Wilfred has a strange relationship with a man named Bruce, who sees Wilfred as Ryan does. They play complex, nonsensical games with each other, often using Ryan as a pawn or a stake. Bruce claims to be Wilfred's original owner and that Wilfred drove Bruce into ruin. They can be considered frenemies, as they are occasionally at each other's throats, but work well together to help Ryan. Wilfred is in a romantic relationship with a stuffed bear that he rescued from doggy day care. He humps this bear frequently, but at the same time, shares a deep emotional bond with it (him/her?). Bear is often depicted as slightly manipulative of Wilfred. He treats it like a real partner, and has real relationship problems, fights, and reconciliations, the latter usually taking the form of increasingly devious sexual acts. Wilfred once cheated on Bear with a stuffed giraffe, but eventually went back to Bear, out of love and respect. Bear is, according to Wilfred, host to a colony of Semen Ants who feed upon the ejaculate left by Wilfred. Reality of Wilfred In Happiness, it is revealed that the version of Wilfred the viewers and Ryan see is fake. Ryan is mentally ill, as the result of an unstable mother and father and a traumatic childhood. While Jenna's dog is real, the version of Wilfred shown is a part of Ryan's mind, and Wilfred's manipulative and exploitive nature is all Ryan's doing. There are several examples, such as how when Wilfred attempted to baptize him, Ryan dunked his head in the toilet and blamed it on the dog and when Wilfred put a shock collar on him, Ryan was shocking himself. Ryan begins to feel lost without his best friend and decides to keep the mental version of Wilfred he created as a conscience and a buddy to guide himself through his life. This is hinted several times throughout the series. For instance, Mittens, Catherine's cat, is seen by Catherine the same way Ryan sees Wilfred, suggesting that Ryan inherited this and this is the reason he sees Wilfred the way he does. In Happiness, Wilfred states as a joke that he is Ryan and they are of one mind, meaning that Wilfred only knows what Ryan knows (although this is an error, as Ryan knows several things he shouldn't, such as that Amanda was a janitor in Forward- although Ryan could've seen her and acted as if he didn't to keep up the illusion- that Kristen's boyfriend Michael was with another woman before he was with Kristen (although he could've made the assumption and when Wilfred broke into the car, it was really Ryan and he just kept up the illusion by blaming it on Wilfred). Theories of Wilfred Before Wilfred's true nature was revealed, several theories were put through by fans. They include: * Ryan's suicide was successful and now he is in a purgatory or a kind of afterlife. Wilfred is his spirit guide and the reason Jenna is such a powerful influence to him is because she was the last person he saw before he killed himself. Because he heard Wilfred before he died, Wilfred functions in this role. * Ryan's suicide was successful and Wilfred is a spirit guide or a god trying to show Ryan what his life might've been like had he survived. * Ryan committed suicide but has been found by either Jenna or Kristen and since has been in a coma. Since he heard Wilfred, it is a part of his mind that is trying to drive him back to life. Kristen yelling at him is her talking to him. * Ryan is imagining Wilfred, either to help him or out of boredom, but he refuses to admit this. * Wilfred is a magical entity, either good or evil, that is either trying to corrupt Ryan for reasons unknown or help him. This theory is put through several times throughout the series. * Ryan had successfully committed suicide and Wilfred wandered into his house because of the smell and found his corpse. All of the adventures and episodes are being created by Wilfred himself, wondering what it would've been like if they knew each other and the man survived. * Wilfred is a split personality of Ryan being projected onto Jenna's dog, acting as a conscience. Wilfred is supposed to represent Ryan's bottled up emotions that he had repressed. Ryan believes this at several points and the series finale appears to conform this. * Wilfred is just a dog and everything that happens is Ryan doing it (such as for instance, when Wilfred got raped at doggie day care, he wasn't actually raped, Ryan just imagined it being so, or when Wilfred left Ryan's wallet outside of Spencer's house, it was Ryan's doing.). Most of this theory turns out to be true. * Wilfred is an alien being, observing Ryan for the benefit of his species. * There is no dog and Jenna doesn't actually know who Ryan is. Ryan is thinking what could happen if he knew Jenna and actually dated her. * There really is no dog. Wilfred is an actual man in a costume and the whole plot about only Ryan seeing him is because Henry is trying to drive him insane as a form of revenge. Everyone- Jenna, Kristen, etc.- are being paid off to make Ryan think Wilfred is a dog. * Wilfred is an immortal being that has existed for years, being a constant part of Ryan's life, but up to Happiness, Ryan actually remembers, due to repressing it. This is put forth by The Drawing. * Wilfred is a special being and everyone else sees Wilfred the same way Ryan sees him. However, they don't want to admit they are crazy and so treat Wilfred like an actual dog. TriviaCategory:US Characters * Unlike the Australian Wilfred in which he is a mutt mix of Labrador, German Sheperd, and 1/16 dingo, US Wilfred's breed is shown to be an Australian Cobberdog in(Happiness), which is used to explain his accent. Unlike the Australian Wilfred, he showed little to no distain over the male protagonist, seeing Ryan as his best friend and often encourages his pursuit of Jenna Mueller. The Australian Wilfred saw Ryan's counterpart Adam as trying to steal his owner away from him and be his 'new daddy.' * Wilfred sees Bear the same way that Ryan sees Wilfred. It can therefore be inferred that this is how he sees other stuffed animals and dogs, as shown by the way he interacts with them. * Wilfred's clone is Lord Charles Beevelt II, but is better known as Stinky. According to him, Stinky is an affectionate nickname. Since Stinky was cloned in order to replace Wilfred, it is possible Wilfred's original name is Lord Charles Beevelt. * Although Wilfred is often seen as a man in a gray dog suit, it is revealed in Courage, he is really a brown colored Australian cobberdog (a breed of labrodoodles). In the series premiere, Ryan believes him to be a white sheepdog. * According to himself, Wilfred got "hip displeasure" (not Hip Dysplasia) from a beating his previous owner, The Italian Loafer Guy, gave him.